Discover Pass now required to access many state parks and recreation lands

Employees of Washington State Parks and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were busy this past week posting signs that the mandatory Discover Pass are now required for vehicle access to state park and recreation lands.

The Discover Pass, approved by the 2011 Legislature, is aimed at providing revenue to preserve public recreational access to lands managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the state Department of Natural Resources and state Fish and Wildlife.

The pass provides access to 7 million acres of recreation lands, including state parks, boat launches, heritage sites, wildlife and natural areas, campgrounds, trails and trailheads.

The Discover Passes are registered to a single vehicle and are non-transferrable.

An annual Discover Pass costs $35 from the WILD system (at a license dealer, phone or on the internet).

A Discover one-day pass costs $11.50 from the WILD system (at a license dealer, phone or on the internet).

Passes are on sale wherever fishing and hunting licenses are sold and available online or by phone through the state Fish and Wildlife recreational licensing system; also in-person at State Parks headquarters and region offices and at parks as staff is available.

About the author

A Seattle native, Mark Yuasa is a lifelong angler who grew up near the banks of Lake Washington and has been covering fishing and outdoors for more than 21 years for The Seattle Times. Read his regular fishing report every Thursday and the outdoor notebook every Sunday.